Strength & Conditioning: Mike Eves, Week 2, Day 4

EDITOR'S NOTE: These workouts are written by IKFF-certified trainer Mike Eves. Mike's approach to fitness emphasizes whole-body training with functional exercises, using kettlebells, Indian clubs, and bodyweight movements. Read more about Mike at his website, Kick Ass Fitness UK.

Fitness doesn’t just happen; you have to make it happen. The truth is that you can train anywhere, be it in that cold garage or the great outdoors. Most bodyweight exercises such as pull ups, push ups, sprawls, or burpees can be done anywhere, anytime. The only thing that really matters is that you consistently strive to improve. Once you commit yourself to doing that, everything else is a done deal.

I’m a great believer in training every day. The human body is not supposed to be sedative. Have a daily ritual of exercise that will turn into habits to constantly drive you forward. A word of caution, however - doing high intensity and strength workouts everyday will cause you to break down. Restoration is a key factor of fitness, so on lower intensity days perform yoga, Indian clubs, bodyweight exercises, and mobility. Let’s get started.

A quick note on periodization; there are many methods on this subject all with the same goal: to prevent you from overtraining by putting you through a series of cycles relating to intensity, volume of work, and other factors. Personally I prefer an undulating method, which exposes you to various stimuli every training day. For example, on some days the focus is mainly on strength and the next day could be more of a power component. Often this stimulus is varied during the actual session too, much like in real life.

In terms of the training week, I tend to work more on technique, skill, and practice at the beginning of the week and finish the week with high intensity circuits. This has allowed me to maintain a high level of fitness for a long period and also keep my training sessions interesting, since boredom is a prime reason for giving up. So keep it interesting and keep practicing and refining your fitness skills. With that in mind, let’s jump into week two.

Kettlebell training is an integrated fitness system – it’s a combination of endurance, strength, power, strength endurance, and power endurance, as well as range of motion improvement, coordination, body awareness, and mental fortitude. However, due to the fixed weight of the kettlebell you will soon reach a limit, if strength is your main goal. Therefore, the main focus for kettlebell training should be work capacity.